After Derrick Rose announced his retirement from the game last year, there’s been a substantial discussion about what kind of honor the Chicago Bulls will provide towards their beloved hoops icon.
For seven seasons, Rose proudly represented the Bulls as one of the league’s brightest stars. With his explosively fast play and hyper-athletic demeanor, Rose charged the Bulls towards success and relevance.
Chicago emerged as a prime basketball town since Michael Jordan‘s fabled days under Rose’s leadership, and the former superstar guard skyrocketed as the best player in the world in 2011 as he got named the regular season MVP winner — becoming the youngest player to clinch the award in league history.
For all of the achievements and contributions he brought to the Bulls, Rose earned the right to obtain an honorable gesture from the organization. And for the former superstar guard, a statue is officially ruled out in his desired list.
“The way people have been creating these statues, I don’t want a statue,” he told Shams Charania of ESPN in a recent sit-down interview. “No statue. Jerry [Reinsdorf], no statue. Please, Michael [Reinsdorf], no statue.”
As it is, Rose is seemingly referencing the infamous statue that was unveiled by the Miami Heat for Dwyane Wade last year. The image and likeness of the Heat legend drew massively brutal hecklings and criticism not only in the NBA but in the entire sports world.
As such, Rose simply desires one thing in his mind from the Bulls — his iconic No. 1 up in the rafters of the United Center.
“[My] jersey being retired, I would love that. That would be my way of getting to
close to the Top 75, and I’m only saying that because it relates to the MVP,” Rose said. “It’s only a handful, a small group that got that trophy back there. And to think that way of playing, the Chicago way of playing, is not in that 75, it makes you think about it a little bit or question it a little bit.”
Rose’s wishes simply contradict what his former Bulls teammate and running mate Joakim Noah campaign for him. Nevertheless, the 36-year-old certainly holds a privilege for what he truly wants to be granted.
Should the Bulls decide to elevate Rose’s jersey number, he’ll join the likes of Jordan (23), Scottie Pippen (33), Jerry Sloan (4), and Bob Love (10) in the exclusive club that was immortalized by the franchise.
And that simply serves as a perfect fairy tale ending that Rose couldn’t ask for more in his illustrious career.
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